Days 59-61: Last Weekend in Nicaragua

April 7-9, 2006

The waterbus left Mancarron as scheduled, at 3:30AM. After the no-surprise
ride back to San Carlos (the only event worth mentioning was the spectacular
sunrise, which gave us an idea to finally start getting up early more often!
:)), we just wiped off a thick layer of dead Chayules from the Nissan and
hit the road. Back to Masaya at full throttle! (which translates into 10-15
mph on the infamous San Carlos road). At around 6PM, all bones sore from the
hellish ride, we arrived in Masaya. What a relief to be back!

It's Friday night, the last week before Semana Santa (The Holy Week before
Easter), so there are many different things happening in town: religious processions
marching down the main streets, live music being played in the squares and
cafés, people decorating their house façades for Easter
And then, there is our true favorite old market, Mercado Antiguo, which is
closed tonight but will reopen tomorrow And suddenly we both feel that
we deserve a lazy recuperation weekend in Masaya before continuing south
:) So we simply linger in Masaya until late Sunday afternoon.

With all due respect to the creative people of the secluded Solentiname,
it felt extremely good to be back to the more social life... Guess some of
us like civilization a little bit more than others :)

On Sunday we get back on the road, make a single quick stop to see the volcanoes
of the Ometepe Island (Volcan Concepcion, 17419 ft, and Volcan Madera, 14545
ft, both stand gracefully on Isla Ometepe in the middle of Lago de Nicaragua
and can be clearly seen from the Pan-American highway), and then continue
driving toward the border of Costa Rica until by dusk we reach San Juan del
Sur, a little relaxed beach town on the Pacific coast, known as the most popular
resort of Nicaragua. Judging by the numerous hotels, restaurants and bars,
San Juan del Sur truly sees more visitors than Solentiname :) The busy Malecon
(beachfront street) looks like a perfect place for the 'Bye Nica!' party.
The border of Costa Rica is just a few hours away.

Tip #1: If you are waiting for the 3:30AM waterbus from Solentiname
to San Carlos (there is no other but this early morning one, twice a week),
make sure you have a powerful flash light. You will surely get on the boat
if you are departing from Mancarron. However, if you happen to have stayed
on San Fernando or La Venada and want to get on the water bus from there,
you have to clearly wave a flashlight from the wharf when you hear the boat
approach. It is still completely dark at 3:30AM, and the boat does not stop
to check if there is anybody waiting in the dark. There are so few tourists
on the islands on Solentiname that you better get familiar with the local
rules before you go there :)

Tip #2: There are several places along the road to San Carlos where
you can buy water, beer and food. There are no gas stations, however, and
the one in San Carlos sells only low octane leaded gasoline, so fill the tank
to the maximum before leaving Juigalpa.

Tip #3: In case you are really thinking about going to Solentiname,
seriously consider taking a boat from Granada. It will take you the same 9-11
hours to get there, but you will later send us a thank-you e-mail for advising
you not to take the San Carlos road.

Tip #4: Most hotels in San Juan del Sur are nicer and pricier than
elsewhere in Nicaragua, but you can find a decent cheap place as well. We
can recommend Hospedaje Eleonora, if you don't mind pink :) A big, clean,
simple room for USD 15 had almost everything pink, from the curtains and bed
covers to the soap holder! We were about to thank the happy owner of the Pink
Place for not wearing a pink T-shirt at the time he let us in. Or maybe he
just wasn't dressed in the business attire